SHIPS HIT NORWAY 39 - NORWEGIAN SHIPS CARGO LOST
17)KATTEGAT (RAIDER MICHEL)
Photo. www.sjohistorie.no
Built: 1936
Tonnage: 4,245 / 8,370 tons
Cargo: Ballast
Route: Capetown - Montevideo
Shelled, sunk by Raider Michel 20 MAY 42 in pos. 28º 11’S 11º 30’W
0 Dead
32 POW
On May 8, after the embarrassing and frustrating experience of ‘The Menelaus Affair’ on May 1, during which his strategy failed miserably, partly due to the skill of her master, Captain J.H.Blyth, and partly due to errors of judgement made by the LS boat’s commander, the intended victim, the 10,000-ton Blue Funnel liner escaped, the Michel once more rendezvoused with the Charlotte Schliemann, to re-fuel and transfer prisoners.
Ruckteschell had had to deploy his Arado seaplane to find the tanker after several attempts to meet her had failed.
Nearly three weeks later, on May 20, the crew of this 4,245-ton Norwegian freighter, running in ballast for La Plata, was completely unaware of the raider’s presence until sixteen 150mm shells demolished their bridge, radio room and engine room, amazingly with no casualties, and surrendered, without manning their gun or sending out any signals.
By Hilfskreuzer (Auxiliary Cruiser / Raider) - Michel (bismarck-class.dk)
